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mulligans,text messaging and swimsuit shoots?

"I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots."
I don't know what is mulligans. There are several explanations in the dictionary. Does it mean a kind of food here?
And what does "text messaging" mean?
And "swimsuit shoots"?
Thank you!!

Re: mulligans,text messaging and swimsuit shoots?

Thank you very much, Coffa! I understand the three questions now. But there are still some sentences make me puzzled in the same article, can you help me? Here is the context as below, and the red sentences I don't understand.
1.I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to
pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.
But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in
marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a
wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming
and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars -- all in the
same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back
mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
2. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by
touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able
to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!"
3.Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour
Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?
4.This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 -- only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.
5.He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
There are so many sentences, and I feel sorry to tire your eyes, but I will be very grateful for your help and patience!

Re: mulligans,text messaging and swimsuit shoots?

This is very strong American slang, Jenny. I'm not surprised you are finding it difficult .

Originally Posted by Jenny Lau

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back
mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

"Bowling" here refers to ten-pin bowling, an indoor game where players take it in turns to roll a large ball into a set of ten "pins" or skittles, with the aim of knocking them down. "Look a little lame" is slang for "look very unimpressive". He means just taking your son to an indoor game is unimpressive compared to taking him skiing, mountain-climbing, etc.

2. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by
touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able
to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!"

"The Bruins" are an ice-hockey team, probably the "Boston Bruins" (although there are other ones). "Go Bruins!" is an exclamation encouraging the team to play well.

3.Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour
Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?

"A buzz" is a rush of adrenalin, so feeling "a buzz" means feeling excited. By contrast, "a buzzkill" is something that makes you feel deflated. The author is saying that it must be damaging to your ego if you are a young man (a "stud" is a fit, virile young man) who is passed by an old man towing someone in a dinghy.

4.This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 -- only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

This is a sarcastic comment. The author is saying that although the current record holder beat Dick and Rick by 35 minutes, he didn't have the handicap of having to push a wheelchair. Obviously we know that he wouldn't be pushing a wheelchair, so "in case you don't keep track of these things" is meant sarcastically as "of course you wouldn't know this if you 'didn't keep track of' athletics (didn't follow athletics very closely)".

5.He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

"hard-belly shape" is slang for "very fit". When you are very fit, you have strong stomach muscles - a "hard belly".

There are so many sentences, and I feel sorry to tire your eyes, but I will be very grateful for your help and patience!

Re: mulligans,text messaging and swimsuit shoots?

Thank you,Coffa! I can't thank you enough!! All the questions have been explained so clearly, and now I understand all of them except question 4.
4.This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 -- only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.
I still cannot get the meaning of "in case you don't keep track of these things", "these things" here means the matter (story of the father and son), or the athletics? Could you explain it again?
By the way, what does a "porker" mean? a lazy man?

Re: mulligans,text messaging and swimsuit shoots?

4. This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 -- only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you are not aware of who holds the world record for the best time, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

By the way, what does a "porker" mean? a lazy man?

Beef comes from cows, "pork" from swines/pigs. The noun porker, a disparaging term, is used to describe a person or animal; e.g., a dog that is fairly rotund in shape and size.